The seat belt was annoying. It was rubbing in all the wrong places. Judy rubbed her stomach, glad that there were bandages wrapping her middle under her uniform. Despite the stitches being gone, it wasn't the most comfortable feeling. She knew her fur would cover each scar, but it made her slightly self-conscious. Plus, she wasn't happy about the situation.
She expected them to take squad cars. Go to each area and find out information. Work together in order to find some leads. Instead it was one car. Nick's. And somehow she had ended up the back seat instead of up front. That was her spot. She always sat next to Nick. Instead, Talens had ended up there. In her spot. Hers.
'Wait, that's not mine,' she told herself. 'Calm down. Just because I understand how he feels doesn't mean that there's anything going on.' She took a breath and played with her paws. She didn't like this feeling, whatever it was. It was different from how she'd felt when Nick was able to do something she couldn't. Was this a different type of jealousy?
"Talens, is there anything you can tell us before we get there?" Judy wasn't trying to come off as rude, but she wanted something to distract herself. She wanted to focus on the job. They were still about 10 minutes out, anyway.
The ocelot turned in her seat and looked at her. "No casualties when I arrived on scene. Blacked out from the blast. You'd get more details from that file you received."
Judy just stared back at the cat. Her dark eyes weren't revealing anything. She could feel the cat getting under her skin. So far under that she felted to shake her skin right off her body.
"Carrots, she doesn't give out a lot of info. She treated me the same when we first got assigned together. Just bear with it." She looked up and saw Nick's eyes staring at her in the mirror. She didn't like he was defending Talens, but the fact he could see what was bothering her made her happy.
Talens just glared at the fox. "I still don't share much info with you, fox. You haven't earned it."
He flicked his ear in her direction. "I think I've earned it. Two buildings falling on top of you does that."
"You really want to go there, Wilde?" Judy focused on the older officer. Despite her voice being level, the look in her eyes was dangerous.
Nick didn't shy away from her. "This isn't a competition. Nor is this attacking what any of us have gone through." He turned the wheel, getting on the last street that would lead to the other Precinct. "I'm saying we've all gone through enough for this case. If we can't share information, it's just as dangerous as if we were enemies."
The cat huffed and turned back towards the road. Nick's paws seemed to grip the wheel a bit tighter. Judy just let her head flop back against the seat. She knew they were still a few minutes from the Precinct. But unlike before, the car was now silent and an air of tension was pervasive. She groaned inwardly.
Those remaining five minutes were some of the longest of her life.
Apparently the Precinct wasn't happy with the situation. Judy listened as Nick spoke quietly to the officer who was trying to harass him for using his personal vehicle.
"Officer Graze, right?" The white tailed buck nodded. "It's not a two person team here. There's three of us. Imagine that in a police cruiser; who would you stick in the back? Which of your fellow officers gets to be the criminal?"
The buck peered into the car, noticing the passengers. "Honestly? You." Nick's ears laid down on his head but he didn't get angry. Judy was glad he could control his anger; despite steps taken forward, many foxes and other species were looked at disfavorably. "Next time, please go through the proper channels so we aren't worried."
Judy hadn't thought of that. When Nick went to open his mouth, she leaned forward and placed a paw on his arm. "Nick, the situation has everyone on edge. Don't." He looked at her and nodded before looking back to the buck.
"My apologies." The buck nodded and stepped back from the car, allowing everyone to get out. Judy hopped out on the same side as Talens; she had pushed some files and a random shirt on the left hand side and didn't want to climb over it. Nick's car may be closer to her size than the cruiser they were assigned, but it was still built for a slightly larger mammal than herself. The buck waved his arm at the Precinct; it was still being rebuilt. "Welcome to Precinct 8. I'm your official liaison while you're here. If you have any questions, go ahead and ask."
Judy followed Talens to the back of the car where Nick and their new 'contact' was waiting. His expression, and the way he looked down on them (literally) was not a comfortable feeling. Judy feared they'd have to fight more discrimination here.
"How much has your team found out about the vehicle?" Judy looked up at Talens. She couldn't explain it, but somewhere inside she knew something bad was about to happen. The ocelot wasn't showing any signs or tremors, but just like her and Nick seeing the scene may bring things out. Things that should stay hidden.
"We rebuilt the scene as our Chief asked. We were told that we could explore anything into this we wanted to, but that some Downtown officers would collect that information and take over." He looked at his watch as he led towards the side entrance. "So a lot of officers just did what was requested and no more. It feels like we're having a dispute over jurisdiction. It's a huge turn off."
Judy heard Talens make a small huff. Nick hid his better, but she could see the flick of his tail. Funny, she used to never notice small things like that. Now, just a small movement and she was starting to read his less discerning movements. That wasn't the important thing right now though. She shook her head and went through the door that he was holding open to follow Talens and the Precicnt 8 officer. As she did, she felt a furry brush and realized that Nick had let his tail brush against her ears. It made her blush and she stepped forward before he could turn it into a joke.
As they entered the Precinct, Judy found herself relieved. Like with their own station, 8 had managed to clean the interior and remove all signs of the attack. Talens managed to stand straight, but Judy noticed she was shaking. Nick came around from behind her and moved to stand on the other side of Talens. As he passed her, she heard him whisper, "Roll with it."
She knew what he meant. She could feel the distrust, the annoyance in the air. Every officer in the Precinct was turning to look at them. She looked to Nick, noticing that he was standing straighter. Somehow, that cocky grin was on his face. Even looking like he thought himself high and mighty, it was clear he had a plan. She trusted him to keep everything in control.
"Chief, they're here!" She looked at Graze, wishing he'd be less obnoxious about it. Had it been their Precinct, she'd of led the squad up to the Chief and tried to avoid a scene. Instead, it felt like one was being instigated.
A side door opened. Considering the Precincts should be similar in design, Judy knew that area would be the interrogation rooms and holding cells. He was even bigger than Bogo. She wasn't sure the type, but the Chief of Precinct 8 was some kind of elephant. He looked tired, but all the nearby officers immediately gave him way as he walked towards them.
"So this the team in charge of the attacks, huh?"
Judy felt herself flop inside. Despite appearing masculine, the voice had a distinct feminine nature to it. She mentally told herself to not call the larger mammal a him.
She waited for one of her partners to speak up. When neither did, she moved forward. "Officer Judy Hopps, ma'am. These are Officers Talens and Wilde."
The Chief crossed her arms and stared at her. "Proper police protocol is to refer to me by my name or Chief, Lieutenant."
"Actually, proper policy is for the commanding officer to introduce him- or herself before anything commences, Chief." Judy felt her eyes widen and froze. This wasn't good. Nick was about to cause a scene.
The elephant huffed and looked to glare at him. Judy knew she'd have to deal with Bogo later. But he had a plan.
"My name is Alice Tusks, and I am the Chief of Precinct 8." Judy could feel the anger in the air. Why did Nick have to stir up trouble?
"Chief Tusks, we have no intention of overrunning your officers. We just want to solve the case." Judy looked over at Talens, thankful that her partner had spoken up. She had gone from falling apart to picking herself back up. At least she was trying to prevent Nick from messing everything up. The elephant turned her attention to the ocelot and stepped towards her.
"Do you want to shirk your duties now, Officer? After you and your partner barged in and demanded we give you a prisoner?" Talens look changed. Her whole posture did. This was getting out of hand. "In fact, why are you here? You're a bit too close to the case. I believe my officers would do better than you to solve this case, especially if your medical file is accurate." Talens posture changed again, but this time for the worse. She was shaking. The elephant pointed to the far wall, next to a pillar. "Need I remind you how we found you, Officer?"
With that, the elephant turned and began walking across the lobby. Judy could hear the whispers starting, the ones saying they were all too close, how they were being overran by out of control cops. She turned to say something to Talens and froze. Nick had stepped forward, in front of the buck next to them. "Permission to speak, Chief!" he barked out.
Judy started waving her paw at her neck. This was too far. The elephant froze, turning to glare at the trio. "Excuse me?"
"Since you're acting like this is a military sector, I thought I'd treat you like a CO and ask for permission to speak. Or is this not the ZPD, Chief Husks?"
The room had gotten quiet. Deathly quiet. Judy knew her nose was twitching, but she couldn't stop it. This wasn't how everything was supposed to happen. This isn't how the ZPD operates. It couldn't be.
"Fine. Granted, Officer Smart Ass."
"You're a two-faced hypocrite." With that statement, Judy closed her eyes and prepared her statement when she gave in her badge. She could hear the stomping as the elephant returned.
"Wanna repeat that, fox?"
"You, and this whole Precinct, are acting like two-faced hypocrites, Chief." He said it so natural, like he thought he could get away with it. Judy opened her eyes and was shocked at what she saw. Talens, like her, was frozen and looked at Nick like he'd lost his mind. The Chief was leaned down over him, intimidating. Nick just stared back, at attention, with that grin on his face.
"We didn't come here to take the case away from you or your officers. We were sent to look into the connections between the robberies, the bombings, and a highly organized criminal organization. Instead of cooperation, you harass us. You insult my partner and try to trigger an emotional tie. You say you're police, but you act like scum like we arrest. Hypocrites." He just glared at the large mammal in front of him.
She laughed, but it wasn't a good sound. It was acknowledging that he'd stuck his own foot in his mouth. "Thank you for that, Officer Wilde. I'll make sure you're stripped and fired for insubordination."
"Please do so only after you clear up charges of discrimination, both in forms of racial- and character forms as well as internal charges of harassment of underlings and noncooperation of departments, as noted in the manual in cases of a multi-precinct case." His smirk was gone, but that look in his eyes was strong. Fire. He wasn't backing down. Judy could only believe he knew what he was doing, because she didn't know how to stop it.
The Chief wasn't pleased. Her own grin was replaced by wide eyes and a snarling face. "Do you intend to blackmail a superior officer?" She lowered closer to him, the whole Precinct watching. "From your file, you used to be a criminal. That does sound like something you'd do. You definitely shouldn't be here." It sounded more like a threat than a statement, and Judy could hear snickering from somewhere.
"If we requested aide at this point and you refused, would it not be considered harassment and discrimination, Chief? After what you've so impolitely said?" His ears were up; Judy realized he wasn't worried. Far from it. Somehow this scary event, this life changing confrontation wasn't bothering him.
"All three of you are too close to the case. Bogo was an idiot for allowing any of you back on it."
Nick laughed in her face. "Does Bogo make bad calls? Probably. But I couldn't count the amount on a single one of my paws, and that's saying something."
The elephant shook in anger. "You expect me to just stand by while you come in and try to control MY precinct and override MY orders?"
"That's not why we're here." Judy was shocked to hear the words come from her own mouth. But if this could be cleared up now, at least she could say she'd tried to save their careers. "This is too big for one Precinct."
"Too big for YOUR Precinct, Officer. Not mine. Now take your team and leave. You're too close to this case, and I don't want that on my people." She turned her back to leave and Judy sighed. Maybe they'd keep their jobs after all.
"Have you ever watched your partner die?" Judy just stared at Nick. Not only was he egging on the Chief of Police in this district, but now he was going to bring that up? 'Goodbye, career,' she groaned.
The Chief looked at him angrily. "The hell does that have-"
"Have you?" Nick cut her off. He turned and looked at the whole room. "Have any of you watched your partner die?" He waved his paw at Talens, who was now visibly shaking. She looked like she did back in the hospital- emotional, unstable, broken.
"Nick!" Judy whispered. "Stop it!"
"How about watching your partner fall down a four story building and realize you're powerless to do anything? How many of you have been shot or injured on the job, whether it's from weapons or environment?" He moved forward, pulling his uniform up. Judy gasped. She hadn't seen how bad his marks were and was scared to. There, on the bottom ride side, right above his hip, she could see what looked like a quarter sized scar where the fur hadn't healed with the skin bunched up tight around it. She knew the front looked worse.
"Any of you! How many of you were within the blast radius when this building went, hmm?" He was staring at everyone in the Precinct, his eyes furious. That fire had built into an inferno and Judy knew he'd had enough. "How many of you have even had the chance of losing your partner? Or have you been lucky enough to avoid any of those scenarios?
"OFFICER'S DIED!" His voice came out strong, demanding. He turned back towards Judy and the silent cat. "Talens watched her partner disappear in front of her eyes. How dare you say we're not meant to be here!" He glared at the elephant and moved forward. To Judy's surprise, the Chief actually backed away. "While you've been cozy rebuilding in peace, we've been finding dead civilians and burying officers. While you've been safe dealing with drunks and juveniles, we've been in the hospital recovering so we could get right back on the job. So yes, Chief Tusks, we're close to the case. We know what these animals are capable of. We know the risks, and yet we're still here.
"And instead of finding others who want to get their damn jobs done, we find a bunch of ZPD officers who CLAIM that we're stealing their jobs from them. WE'RE ALL COPS. This is your job," he pointed at a tiger in the corner, "your job," moving his paw to a hippo by the desk, "as well as our jobs. Stop harassing us for doing what we're asked to! We came here to cooperate, solve a case, and get these murderers off the street. Instead you're slowing us down and treating us like we're villains. We don't care who gets the credit as long as the job gets done!" The Chief opened her mouth as if to argue, but Nick just continued.
"So go ahead. File your reports for us breaking protocol with cars and speaking to officers. Ignore your own wrongdoings. Ignore everything the ZPD stands for, I don't care. But if you're not going to help us, ignore our team. Pretend we don't exist. Just don't act like you're better than us because of our species and backgrounds and involvement in this case. We've survived it to this point, and we don't intend to back out not. Either get on board or get out of the way." He was almost gasping for air at this point, but luckily he wasn't waving his arms around or pointing anywhere.
Judy realized she wasn't breathing, just shocked at what Nick had just done. She looked around the room and saw the animals staring in shock and awe, some looking down. Even the Chief was stunned.
After a moment the Chief looked up, but there was a different look in her eyes. "The scene was put together in a warehouse three blocks from here. Maurice!" She turned to the orangutan behind the register. "Get them the address." She then turned to Nick and then looked at the rest of the team. "I'll be contacting your superior about this." Her voice wasn't as condescending as before.
Judy nodded. "That's fine, Sir. I'm sorry for my partner, he's rather-"
The Chief raised her arm. "Save it, Officer. I haven't had any officer speak up to me like this and I'm not sure whether to admire it or throw him in a cell." The Chief then waved her large arm to the area. "Your team has access to whatever you need. Don't be a nuisance, and we'll at least try to accommodate your investigation." With that, the Chief turned and walked away, finally able to reach her office and escape Nick's tirade.
The orangutan limbered over to Judy and gave her the address. "Your partner has guts," he informed her. The rest of the officers were returning to their duties, and sighed with relief.
"Yeah, he does." She looked at him. He knew how to hide his emotions better than that, and he knew how to push an animal so far before things went down the drain. That was risky, even for him.
"Don't let him get you fired." With that, the ape went back to his position behind the desk, quickly answering the phone for a unit that was away from the Precinct.
Judy grabbed Talens arm and pulled her towards the door. "Nick, outside. Now." He turned and looked at her, quickly following. As he went outside, his sunglasses went back to their normal perch. "What the hell were you thinking?! Are you trying to jeopardize the case?"
He turned his muzzle down to her, a grin spreading quickly. "They weren't going to cooperate otherwise. If we have nothing to lose, play to win it all."
Talens was shaking again, but it wasn't from fear. Judy watched as the ocelot slowly began to lean over, her laughter coming out. "You're crazier than I thought, Wilde!"
He just shrugged. "I learned a long time ago how to play others. Then I met this emotional rabbit who gave me a way to do it better." He turned his eyes to Judy. "Thanks for that, Carrots."
Judy hit him. For some odd reason, she couldn't stop the scowl on her face from trying to lift up. "Don't scare me like that again. I thought we were going to have to turn in our badges a few times there."
He led the way back to his car, that sloppy grin making him look cocky and shameless. Although a part of Judy recognized that that same look made her recognize how handsome he looked. She shook her head and got in the car, glad that the sun was overhead. They wouldn't have time to visit the next scene until tomorrow at the earliest, and she'd had enough job scares to last her for the rest of her career. She buckled up into the seat, anxious to see what else they'd have to deal with in the Canyons.
AUTHOR'S NOTE: I come from America, and if you aren't aware the Criminal Justice system has problems when it comes to cooperation between departments in many cases, especially those involving federal inputs. I thought I'd show that side in this chapter. Sorry if it seems dramatic, but after writing this chapter I felt it showed well how much discrimination there still is in Zootopia and that's important as I build more into the romance.
Enjoy!
